


Did I tell you I need you?

by adagietto4



Category: Figure Skating RPF
Genre: Platonic Bed Sharing, Scott is in trouble, Tessa comes to his rescue, can you see where this is going?, forced cuddling, he has some things to work through, her house isn't finished, late night car talks, little bit of fluff I hope, platonic clothes sharing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-16
Updated: 2018-09-16
Packaged: 2019-07-12 20:56:51
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,605
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16003154
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/adagietto4/pseuds/adagietto4
Summary: “Hello?” she whispered, her throat coarse and dry in the night air.“Tess,” the voice on the other end said, drawing out the “s” slightly. Tessa gave an exasperated sigh and shut her eyes. She would recognize that voice anywhere, drawl and all.“Scott,” she groaned, “You better be sick or dying right now, I swear to god.”ORTessa receives a call in the middle of the night from an unknown number and ends up driving across town to pick up Scott at the police station in the dead of winter. She is beyond impressed, but he does his best to explain why he did what he did.





	Did I tell you I need you?

**Author's Note:**

> This was inspired by the comment Scott made in a video where he and Tessa were asked what they'd both do if they weren't in figure skating and Scott said that he was interested in law enforcement before he got arrested, so that wasn't an option any more. This is still 100% fiction!
> 
> ALSO, bit of a Trigger Warning! Please be wary of mentions of alcohol, sexuality, and bullying.

**Late December**

**London, 2011**

December had always been Tessa’s favourite month. Christmas was both her’s and Scott’s favourite holiday, and getting to spend it with their families (and more importantly, away from the demand of their coaches and training regimens) was honestly more important to them than winning any competition. She valued whatever time she got to spend with the most important people in her life, and catching up on a little local gossip didn’t hurt, either. There was always so much that they missed while in Canton.

Another plus to coming home to London was getting to come home to her new house. While she and Scott were away, renovations came to a halt on her cherished fixer-upper and resumed whenever they were home. Having owned the house for a little less than a year but being home for even less than half of that time, the top-to-bottom renovations were progressing at a crawl, to say the least. Fortunately for her, the renovations were almost done, and she was finally able to spend some time in her new house and relish in the fact that she now had a respite to call her own.

She did not expect, in the middle of the second to last night of their winter vacation, to be driving to the RCMP station of all places.

Fifteen minutes prior, she had been roused from her sleep by the incessant ringing of her phone. With a groan, she rolled onto her side and checked to see who it was. Everyone knew she wasn’t a morning person, but not many people had been graced with dealing with Middle-Of-The-Night-Pissed-Off Tessa. She was a _whole_ different person.

_Don’t some people have the decency to not call in the middle of the night?_

Surprisingly, she didn’t recognize the number. It wasn't a 1-800 telemarketer from the other side of the world like she was expecting. Her finger hovered over the decline button as her phone continued to ring.Middle-Of-The-Night-Pissed-Off Tessa was as irritable as Marina when one of her teams messed up a twizzle sequence, but she wasn’t a bad person. Whoever was calling wouldn’t have called her specifically if it weren’t important, she figured, so begrudgingly, she hit answer.

“Hello?” She whispered, her throat coarse and dry in the night air.

“Tess,” the voice on the other end said, drawing out the “s” slightly. Tessa gave an exasperated sigh and shut her eyes. She would recognize that voice anywhere, drawl and all.

“Scott,” she groaned, “You better be sick or dying right now, I swear to god.”Scott chuckled on the other end, making her scowl. “Don’t you dare laugh at me right now.”

“I know Tess,” Scott replied, “Sorry. I, uh—“

“Wait,” she interrupted, “Whose number is this?” She heard Scott’s breath catch on the other end.

“Well,” he started, drawing it out like he had her name, “That’s why I’m calling. Ya see, I was at a bar tonight with some buddies of mine and… there was some other guy… and… I left the bar… and… Damn it, to make a long story short, I got arrested and I need someone to bail me out. Tess, please? Please come get me?”

The line went quiet and Scott was worried that she had hung up on him. He held his breath and bit his tongue, praying for a response. On the other end, Tessa squeezed her eyes shut and pinched the bridge of her nose and took a deep breath, letting it out slowly and loudly just to show him how irritated she was with him for more reasons than she could count.

“Yep, Scott,” she answered pointedly as she sat up in her bed. “Oh my god, I am going to kill you.”

Scott let out the breath and did a mini celebration in the tiny holding cell. “Thank you, _thank_ you, _Thank You_!” Scott exclaimed. “Better you than my mom.”

She could feel his happiness and relief through the phone and wished she didn’t feel the same, however she was relieved, too. Relieved that he had called her and not someone else. She knew she wasn’t the only person who hated being woken up, but didn’t want anyone else to have to drag themselves out of bed for Scott. It was too early to be feeling such complex emotions, though, and instead she settled with annoyance and budding anger.

“You _will_ explain to me what happened,” she told him, and Scott could tell by her tone that it was not a request but a demand. “Not now, though. Later.”

She put her phone on speaker as she changed out of her pyjamas into a pair of black leggings she had laying around and pulled on a hoodie in the dark. Any sort of light was a no-go that early in the morning.

“Yes, T, of course,” he answered, his voice echoing around her empty bedroom. “Anything. I owe you big time!”

“Like hell you do, Scott.” Tessa grabbed her phone as she made her way downstairs. She put a big Canada Goose jacket on and, making sure her car keys were in her pocket, braved another horrifically freezing December night. “Where are you, exactly?”

“The RCMP station downtown.”

“Okay. Bye.”

“Thank you, Tess,” Scott sighs.

“Don’t thank me yet.” And with that, she hung up. 

Staring at the blank screen, she realized she hadn’t even checked the time. She felt like screaming and crying like Scott’s one month old niece (whom she had met at their combined family Christmas party the week before) when she read the time.

1:57 am.

_Actually. Going. To. Kill. Him._

 

 

She made the drive downtown in record time, due partly to the absence of anyone else on the roads at such an ungodly hour and her desire to get back home and into her bed. She gripped the steering wheel so tight the entire way her knuckles had turned white.

_Thank god it’s the middle of the night or I’d never get a decent parking spot._

Closing her car door harder than she usually did, she glared at the intimidating building meant for criminals when she realized, _Scott has a record now. What does this mean for our career? No, Tess, worry about that later. Get Scott out of this place first._ She pulled the furry hood of her coat farther onto her head and angrily jammed her fists as deep into her pockets as they would go, huffing and chuffing as she neared the entrance.

Walking through the doors, she was met with a much-welcomed blast of hot air and a much-too-eager looking police officer who gave Tessa directions to holding, where she was met by anotherpolice officer (this one not as eager but still too happy for the middle of the night, she thought), who quickly guided her through the process of bailing Scott out. His name tag read “Stallworth”.

“Hello, miss,” Stallworth said, “What can I do for you?”

“I’m here for Scott Moir,” she began, “Charged with a DUI?”

“Ah, yes,” Stallworth replied, “Mister Moir was pulled over on the Number Four north bound. Sped through a red light and right past a squad car. You can fill in the rest yourself.”

Tessa rubbed her eyes exasperatedly. “I can’t believe him. He knows how his mom feels about drunk driving.”

The officer printed out some forms and handed them to Tessa on a clipboard along with a pen.

“Luckily for your boyfriend, he wasn’t too far over the legal limit. Unfortunately, it’s against the law not only for him to drive anywhere over the legal limit, but for our officers not to arrest him for it,” Stallworth added, wincing slightly in sympathy. Tessa’s eyes went wide.

“Oh, uh, he’s not-“

“I’m not her boyfriend!” a voice from around the corner called. Tessa gave a nervous chuckle.

“He’s not my boyfriend,” she rebutted quietly. Stallworth nodded knowingly, smiling slightly in apology.

“Ah,” he replied. “My apologies.” Gesturing at the forms in her hands, he continued with the process. “There’s a $125 fine since this is only his first offence, and his license has been suspended for three days.”

Tessa sighed. “I guess I’ll be paying that fine.”

 

 

The whole process went quicker than Tessa had expected, and Scott was released into her custody in no time at all. The walk back to her car was silent, air so tense you could cut it with a knife. Scott knew what was coming.

As Tessa started the car and turned up the heat, Scott laid back into the seat and relaxed into his jacket. It was the most comfortable thing he could ever imagine after spending a whole gruelling hour and a half in that holding cell. He sat there with his hands in his lap for what felt like an eternity before Tessa broke the silence.

“Speak,” was all she said.

Scott sighed and ran his hands through his hair nervously. “Where do you want me to start?” Tessa turned her head and glared at him. 

“Start with why you left the bar. Why didn’t you call a cab?” Tessa kept her voice calm and level, a sign that meant, Scott knew, that she was holding back.

“I barely had a drink,” Scott whispered, glancing down at his hands in shame.

“It doesn’t matter how much you had to drink, Scott,” Tessa retorted, her voice becoming louder and her tone harsher. She took a deep breath, a little embarrassed by her outburst at him. “You have a record now,” she said calmly again.

Scott clenched his jaw. “Yeah, well, better a little DUI than assault.”

“What?”

“ _Assault_ , Tess,” Scott emphasized. “I left because I was pissed off and about to kill that guy.” He left Tessa with more questions than answers.

“What guy? Explain.”

Scott took a deep breath and turned to face Tessa. “I was at the bar with Adam, and we got talking to this other guy.”

 _Seems innocent enough_ , Tessa thought.

“It was going alright until he asked us what we both did for a living. I told him I was a figure skater, and it was his response that set me off.”

“Mhm,” she hummed for him to continue, not taking her eyes off the road. Scott cleared his throat and ran his hands through his hair again. She could tell he was nervous.

“He sneered at me, and- and said ‘that’s a gay sport’. A _gay_ sport, T.”

 _Oh_ , Tessa thought, letting out the breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding in and closing her eyes for a moment. _Oh._

“And my mind just stopped,” Scott continued, speaking slowly and thoughtfully. “The only thing I thought was ‘what the fuck?’ Like, jesus, you can’t say that kind of thing. Especially not these days.”

“God, Scott,” Tessa said, everything seeming to make a bit more sense. “That’s terrible. I know how you feel about that word.”

“Yeah,” he replied with a sarcastic chuckle, “Yeah, you know how I feel about _that word._ Especially when it’s used like _that_. Like an _insult_.”

Scott, having devoted much of his life to a sport considered by some to be a “girl’s sport”, had constantly been teased by some kids at schools. He’d been called every kind of slur he could think of by the time he was fifteen.

“I don’t tolerate things like that, T, you know that. _God_. Teenagers suck.”

“I know what you went through, Scott,” Tessa reassured him gently, glancing over at him.

“Yeah, and it hurt. To be called something that you weren’t, and to be teased and made fun of along with it. It sucked. It fucking _sucked_. Like I didn’t question myself all the time, too? Didn’t think to myself, ‘are they right? Am I actually gay? Am I lying to myself?’ They’d say I had a girlfriend just to try and trick everyone and sometimes I kinda believed them. What was I supposed to think?”

Tessa knew what a sensitive subject it was for Scott. She knew from experience that teenagers could be cruel, but had never gone through the same kind of torment that Scott had. He seldom talked about the bullying because since he was a self-proclaimed emotional guy, he always got upset over it, which he hated.

“And it’s not like puberty made it any better,” he added, his voice thick with emotion. “And hitting it two years later than all my friends didn’t help, either. I’d always been such a scrawny kid, and I thought maybe once I hit puberty that would change, but nope. I wasn’t as _big_ or _buff_ as my brothers. I stayed scrawny. God, I’m _still_ scrawny! And it didn’t help getting stuck with such a fucking high voice. Highschoolers were the worst with the teasing.”

Tessa remembered one day during their first year at high school in Canton, when the the only time of day they got to see each other was during the five minute break between second and third period. That particular day, they were briefly chatting at their lockers when one of the jocks passed Scott and obnoxiously elbowed him in the shoulder, muttering “fag” as he went by. She felt powerless as Scott’s whole demeanour changed just like that, how he went from energetic and excited for his next class (he did love starting a new math unit) to almost depressed and self-conscious, staring down at his shoes as he slammed his locker shut, whispering “I’ll pick you up at the normal time, Tess,” before turning on his heels and sauntering down the hall. She vowed that day to a) Never talk to Brad Thomas ever again (Jordan had told her to never trust a guy with two first names), and b) Never tolerate any sort of homophobic behaviour towards anyone, ever. Especially those closest to her.

Both of them switched to online school not long after.

“When people think they can get away with saying those kinds of things, it pisses me off. To be called those names and treated differently because some people thought I was gay really hurt, but I learned from it. You’ll _never ever_ hear me call anyone by a slur or name like those because I know what kind of damage it does, regardless of whether they’re gay or not. Calling something or someone ‘gay’ shouldn’t be used as an insult ever.

“Name calling is a dick move no matter what, but homophobic things like that carry an extra punch because they’ve hurt so many people. Like, why should people be treated differently because of something so simple like their sexuality?

“There’s no room for that kinda shit in today’s society. That’s one of the things I really love about the skating world, T, is that no one really cares about that kinda stuff. They care about whether or not you’re a good skater or a good person—stuff that really matters.”

A beat of silence passed between them. _That’s a lot to process_ , Tessa thought. She was surprised that Scott got through his whole rant without breaking down like he sometimes did when he got so worked up like that. His heavy breathing filled the car as he tried to catch his breath.

“So,” Scott began again, clearing his throat. He spoke calmer now, relieved to have gotten everything off of his chest. “When I heard _that word_ come out of his mouth, I was taken aback. I forgot that some people are still like that. I knew it was fight or flight and… I chose flight. I couldn’t be bothered to wait for a damn cab, I just had to leave.”

“What about Adam?” she asked. Scott scoffed and gave her a side glare.

“That’s all you have to say about that?”

“No,” Tessa replied calmly, “No, but you did kinda just leave him there.”

“Honestly, I completely forgot about Adam at that moment,” he added sheepishly, rubbing his neck.

A moment of silence passed between them again, only this one wasn’t taut with tension. They sat there thinking about what Scott had just said, how just one word can have so many implications. Tessa found that at that moment, all of the anger that he had been harbouring against Scott for waking her up in the middle of the night and for driving after drinking and getting arrested because of it had dissipated.

“Well,” Tessa began, “I can’t condone the reckless driving, but I am proud of you for walking away from that situation instead of hitting him. Really, Scott. That takes a lot of integrity.”

“Thanks, T, that really means a lot.”

“I’m not done,” she continued, her voice soft. “I am also proud of you for being able to talk about this. I know it’s not a comfortable subject for many people, including yourself. 

“You’re right, there is no room for people like that pretty much anywhere. There’s too much hatefulness; we need more love and compassion. And when you stood up for yourself and walked away from that situation, you didn’t just stand up for yourself, but for others who’ve been impacted by that. By that hatefulness. So, yeah, Scott, I’m proud of you.”

He smiled bashfully and opened his mouth to speak before Tessa cut him off.

“One more thing,” she added with a sly tone. Scott’s smile faded as he rolled his eyes.

“Here we go,” he mumbled.

“One,” Tessa started, keeping count on her fingers as she went. “You are buying coffee for—“

“For the rest of the season, I know.”

“That’s not all. Two, I get to choose our exhibition next year.”

“Seems reasonable,” Scott said, his head sagging forward and a sarcastic chuckle escaping his lips.

“And three, we listen to my choice of music every car ride until _I_ get tired of it.”

Scott smirked at her. “Does that include now?” he asked. Tessa frowned.

“No,” she pouted, “It’s too early.” Scott’s laughter filled the car, causing Tessa to smile, too.

“Don’t make me smile,” she scolded, “I’m still mad at you.”

The rest of the drive to Tessa’s house went by in comfortable silence. They both agreed on going to her house because Scott didn’t want to make his mom suspicious, and couldn’t go to Charlie’s house because with the new baby, he and Nicole were busy enough. So, Tessa’s house it was.

The one thing that had slipped her mind was that none of the other bedrooms had been furnished yet.

“Really, T,” Scott said as they entered her house. “I don’t mind sleeping on the couch. You’re doing me a big enough favour by letting me crash here anyway.”

“No, Scott, you can’t sleep on the couch,” she replied, rubbing her eyes. “They’re too small. Take my bed, I know I fit on the couch. I’ve fallen asleep there once or twice and I don’t really mind it.” Scott smiled warmly at her.

“Tess,” he started. “I don’t care. After living through prison, god, sleeping on your granite counter would be like sleeping on a cloud. The couch will do.”

She sighed at him. “Scott, you were in that holding cell for like an hour.”

“And it was the worst hour of my life, T.”

“One thing’s for sure,” Tessa said, making a face at him. “You are not sleeping on my couch _or_ my counter smelling like _that_.”

Scott frowned. “Is it really that bad?”

“You smell like I’d imagine every holding cell in every province smells like,” she deadpanned. “You can borrow some of my stuff for the night.”

Scott winced and groaned as they made their way upstairs.

“Stop that, we’re basically the same size,” Tessa replied. “I’ll give you some of my bigger clothes if it makes you feel any better.”

“Fine.”

“And for the love of god, take a shower. Please.”

“Fine.”

Scott headed off to her washroom to take a shower and change before turning in for the night (morning?). He took a look at the clothes she had given him: a random large grey crewneck sweater from some competition and a nondescript pair of one-size-fits-all red and black checked pyjama pants. He smiled slightly at the fact that they smelled like her. Like a mix of vanilla and Bounce dryer sheets. But he’d never tell her that.

Tessa, on the other hand, changed out of her clothes and back into her pyjamas and gladly returned to her much-missed bed. She quickly crawled in and drew the white duvet up to her chin and snuggled in, but didn’t instantly fall asleep like she’d fantasized about. She was still god-awful tired, but she was _freezing_. She tossed and turned trying to warm up, but nothing worked. She just sat there shivering for what felt like hours, feigning sleep.

Scott quickly showered and got changed, laughing at himself as he looked at himself in the mirror wearing Tessa’s clothes and thinking that he’d never felt more comfortable. That was mostly because of the shower, because he felt disgusting after sitting in that dirty cell, even if he was only there for a bit more than an hour, but being in Tessa’s clothes didn’t do any harm. He tip-toed back to her room to make sure she was asleep before heading downstairs. 

As Scott pushed the door ajar, he registered a faint rattling sound. Opening the door a bit farther and taking a peak inside, he was met with a curled up ball of blankets in the middle of the bed with a bit of hair sticking out, shivering so hard it was making the whole bed shake, causing the rattle. Of course, it was Tessa.

“Hey Tess,” Scott whispered, “You awake?”

“Mm,” she hummed in response.

“You okay?”

“Yeah,” she whispered. She moved the covers a bit so her head was peaking out and she could face Scott. The cold air hitting her face sends her teeth chattering and her body shaking even more.

“T,” Scott started, “I know you’re lying.”

“I’m f-f-fine,” she said, keeping her eyes closed because she didn’t have the strength to open them. “I’m just a little c-cold ‘cause the heat’s not quite working yet.”

“Tess,” Scott said emphatically, leaning against the doorframe and crossing his arms. “You’re shaking the bed.”

“I’m f-fine, Scott, really,” she persisted, “I’ll w-warm up eventually.”

“You know you’re allowed to admit that you’re cold?” He quipped, raising his eyebrows. Tessa chuckled.

“I’ll l-lose my citizenship if I do that.”

“Nu-uh,” he responded, taking a few steps into her room when he realized just how freezing it really was. “Jesus, T, why don’t you buy a space heater or something?”

“D-didn’t think I’d n-need one,” was her answer. “We leave in a f-few days anyways.”

“We won’t be going anywhere if you die of hypothermia.”

“ _Scott_ ,” she insisted, “R-r-really, I am fine.”

Scott wasn’t buying it. He took a few more steps closer and crouched down next to her bed, placing a hand on her cheek. Her skin was cold to the touch, but her pained and cold expression faded away and she involuntarily relaxed into Scott’s hand.

“Why’re you so warm?” She asked.

“Cause I just took a shower, Tess.” He thought for a moment, careful for how he would word his question. He cleared his throat.

“Are you sure you don’t want me to, you know, lay down with you or something?”

Tessa’s eyes shot open and she stared at him with penetrating eyes. _Lay down with me?_  

Scott lurched back onto his heels as he rambled on, trying to explain himself. He pulled his hand away from her face and crossed his arms defensively. “I mean, to share body heat and stuff? ‘Cause, you know, I just took a shower and you feel like a block of ice. I don't you to get sick or something, that's all.”

Tessa was taken aback by his question. _Share a bed? Like, me and Scott, in a bed?_ My _bed? Together?_ She was so cold her nerves screamed yes but her head screamed no. What if her mom found out? Her sister? They definitely wouldn’t leave her alone, even if all they did was just sleep. _Sleep_. Nothing more. All of the denials about her and Scott being in a relationship (and the finally admitting to herself that she may have had a _little_ crush on him, one she’d been nursing since she was eleven so it barely counted—or at least that’s what she tried to tell herself) would have meant nothing to them, and she knew that no matter what she told them (if it ever were to happen and they subsequently found out), nothing she could tell them would make them leave her—or Scott—alone.

“We can’t do that, Scott,” she whispered, rolling onto her side away from him as though doing so would make him disappear. “What if our families found out?”

“Found out what?” Scott asked, “It’s not like we’re going to _do_ anything.” He paused for a second before smirking and adding, “It’s too cold, anyway.”

 _That_ made her snap back around.

“Scott!” she scoffed, “You can’t say stuff like that.” She sighed defeatedly and anxiously, rolling back over away from Scott again. “What about Jessica?”

“What about her?” He chewed on his fingernail as he seemed to find something really interesting in the carpet. “She won’t care.”

“Mm,” Tessa hummed in response again, becoming victim to the exhaustion. She wasn’t completely sure what he meant by the _She won’t care_ thing, but one thing was for sure. “Still, we can’t.”

They sat there for a moment, the only sound in the room being Tessa’s laboured breathing and the squeak of the floor under Scott’s feet as he rocked back and forth on his heels. He sighed annoyedly and slowly pushed himself off of the floor.

“Stop being so damn stubborn, Tessa.”

He gave her no time to react before he’d slipped under the covers and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her in tight. He felt as her shivering ceased and she gave a small gasp, holding her breath as Scott held his, waiting for her response. 

What if she lashed out? Scurried out of his arms or hit him or worse, made him leave her house all together? He had no where to go, but she didn’t say a thing. Instead, they both just laid there for a few seconds before Tessa finally let out a great sigh, relaxing into Scott’s embrace as she did so.

They laid there with her back pressed to his chest and his chin resting on her head, taking deep breaths as they synced their breathing and their heartbeats out of habit. Scott was so lost in thought that he hadn’t noticed a soft snoring that he knew wasn’t coming from him. Leaning forward slightly as to not disturb Tessa, he peered down at her and found that she’d finally succumbed to sleep, and that the quiet snoring (Scott would later tell her that she sounded a bit like his niece) was coming from her.

Her mouth was open slightly and her fist was resting just underneath her chin and Scott couldn’t help but think that it was simultaneously the most adorable thing he’d ever seen and the most beautiful (and that he was hopelessly, desperately in love with the beautiful young woman wrapped in his arms, but he wouldn’t tell her that. Not for a long time).

He smiled warmly as he placed a long, soft kiss to the crown of her head.

“Good night, T.”

And she smiled back.

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you all enjoyed! This was my second attempt at fic and I felt a lot more confident with my writing with this one than my first. Please leave a comment if you liked it, it's greatly appreciated! Also, I hope the mentions of alcohol, sexuality, and bullying were not too harsh? No one ever knows what other people are going through/have gone through and the last thing I want to do is hurt anybody!  
> PS. Title stolen from the Beatles song "Got To Get You Into My Life" because I love oldies stuff (not because of Tessa, my sister very heavily inspired my taste in music).


End file.
